South Africa now has a coronavirus database which tracks all your personal information – what you need to know

Government has published updated regulations for South Africa’s 21-day coronavirus lockdown – including amendments around a new national coronavirus database.

In a gazette published on Thursday (2 April), the regulations state that the Department of Health shall ‘develop and maintain a national database to enable the tracing of persons who are known or reasonably suspected to have come into contact with any person known or reasonably suspected to have contracted Covid-19’.

The Covid-19 Tracing Database shall include all information considered necessary for the contact tracing process to be effective, including but not limited to:

First name;

Last name;

Identity number/Passport number;

Residential address;

Work address/Other addresses where they could be located;

Cellphone number;

Covid-19 test results;

The personal details of all known or suspected contacts of anyone who has tested positive for the virus.

The regulations state that the information contained in the Covid-19 Tracing Database and any information obtained through this regulation is confidential.

In addition, no person may disclose any information contained in the database or any information obtained through this regulation unless authorised to do so and unless the disclosure is necessary for the purpose of addressing, preventing or combating the spread of Covid-19.

While this information will primarily be collected when a person is tested, the regulations will also allow for data to be collected from electronic communications service providers such as mobile networks and ISPs.

This includes any known information that the company may have on an individual which may help prevent the spread of the coronavirus – including their location and movement.

The database will continue to operate until the end of the national state of disaster. Any person who does not comply with these regulations is liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.